COMMENTARY: Parents, remember to tell your kids 'I love you'

11:44 AM,
Dec. 19, 2012

Written by

Laura Vanderkam

A year ago, a friend's child died in his sleep. I realized soon enough that there was nothing one could say to a parent facing such loss that approached the magnitude of the situation.

But I could do one thing. I could make sure that the last words I said to my own three children at night were, "I love you." No matter what happened in their sleep, I would at least know I had said that.

It is not always an easy vow to keep, especially as the months went by and the shock that drove my initial motivation faded a bit. "Stop hitting your brother! I love you." Or after being summoned for the third time with the news ...